France to England, England to France

2011 has been a year of many changes in my life. I'm pretty sure the year started with teary goodbyes as I had to move back to France for the second half of my year abroad. I loved living in France and in all honesty, being a teaching assistant really wasn't that bad, but with ridiculously expensive phone calls, having to trek to McDonald's every time I wanted to use the internet or Skype and getting a headache with every other conversation, home sickness crept in all too easily. It was sad to say goodbye to the girls I had lived with for over 7 months and to think that it would be an absolute age before we were ever able to meet up again, (if at all, they were from america, El Salvador and Germany), but I have never felt happier than I did when I returned home for good and knew that I would not need my passport every time I wanted to see my family, friends or Rob. 

After returning home, I had five and a half months to kill before going back to uni. I took some time off to allow myself to be at complete liberty to relax and catch up with friends and family. It also meant finally being able to see Rob's band YAAKS in action. What he's achieved this year deserves a post of its own, so go give them a listen and a like! I turned 21 at the beginning of June and luckily most of the people I love were home in time to celebrate. I started celebrations early with a family meal the day before my birthday which was amazing. I can't remember the last time we went out as a family, even though it was a shame that one brother was still missing from the celebrations. 

On my actual birthday, we hired  a limo to pull up in Brighton where I was serenaded with a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' lead by the live band and accompanied by the entire population of the Pav Tav. We then went on to Lola Lo's to dance the night away. I don't think I have ever had so much fun on a night out and the occasion was most definitely marked! 

I managed to get a summer job as an Activity Leader for EF language school which was incredibly fun, spending the days lounging on the beach, playing Just Dance on the wii and shopping and sight seeing trips to London and Brighton alike. I adore living by the coast and having the South Downs on my door step, so having a job over the summer which allowed me to be outdoors most of the time was amazing and I had a fabulous bunch of people to work alongside with. 

After Summer and a five and a half month wait, I returned to Canterbury to start my fourth and final year as an undergraduate at the University of Kent. I had been worrying for my entire year abroad about who I would be living with and what it would be like to live in Canterbury once again, considering that the majority of people I had classed as my core group of friends had graduated and would no longer be around. However, I could not have asked for a friendlier group of house mates and it didn't take long to settle in. University is the best thing that I have ever done, it has allowed me to grow up so much. I would never have been able to cope with living abroad three or so years ago and the thought of meeting and talking to new people terrified me, resulting in me going retreating quietly and shyly with awkward conversations, whereas now I feel confident talking to people I've never met before and the idea of meeting new people and making new friends excites me, and this semester has been so enjoyable because of that. 

I am so looking forward to 2012, to graduating next summer and hopefully taking up a journalism course in Brighton (if my interview and exams in January go well). I'm excited to start writing more, on the ol' blog, for my uni paper and hopefully getting more work experience with local papers or magazines. So if you are reading this, I hope you have all had a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year. 

Melita x

Happy Faces Allowed

Christmas is over and it couldn't have been better. I awoke on Christmas morning at a silly early hour to gasps and cries from my eight year old brother as he saw the mince pies, carrots and milk gone and a gigantic present (top photo) in our kitchen taking their place! (It was the only room left in our house, the tree was full to the brim, as you can see). It is so lovely having a littl'un in the house for the festive period as we still manage to keep some of that childhood excitement and it means we all still get presents from Santa! Mother did an amazing job with Christmas dinner as she always does and everybody received some spectacular presents, my youngest brother Joey enjoying a BMX and a brand new scooter amongst his many other treats. 

I was spoilt myself with perfume, clothes and a beautiful kindle. For all those who claim, 'I don't want a kindle, I prefer real books,' I was right there with you until Santa left one under my tree. I love a good ol' fashioned book, second hand is always better, but my kindle is just so swish! It's perfect for slipping into the smallest of bags, lightweight and doesn't hurt your eyes as the screen isn't brightly lit. The range of books on Amazon's kindle store is incredible too, with an excellent selection of free downloads, over a million books to buy overall and the capacituy to store up to 1400 books, kindle holders have a huge variety of novels to read. I'm currently getting stuck into Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar and cannot wait to indulge into the many other worlds of fiction that other authors have to offer.

Boxing day was spent with Rob and his family and was yet another beautiful day. After my second delicious Christmas Dinner we turned to a rather competitive game of Pictionary for which I was paired with Rob which, I hated because he is a dirty rotten CHEAT! Cheating is the worst, I would rather lose honestly than win dishonestly, but Rob can't stand it so do not play games with him. Board games continued with Monopoly for which I must admit I did not bring my A-game and ended up bankrupting myself just in time for home time. I never wanted to be rich anyway... (I joke). 

I hope everyone who reads this had an equally wonderful Christmas time; by the blog updates it seems that you all certainly did. Now to organise New Years Eve, what plans do you all have? 

A Canterbury Christmas

So last night was host to 89's pre-Christmas celebrations, a joyous celebration filled with stuffing, roast pork and crackling, pigs in blankets, a little Bucks Fizz and yes, you've guessed it, a didgeridoo! We had all been speculating about what the enormous present that Ruth so sneakily crept into the house was and with baited breath we erupted into fits of laughter as Emma unwrapped her beloved didgeridoo! I cannot help but laugh out loud every time I hear a sort of mooing noise coming through my wall, an AMAZING present! Other gifts included a David Attenborough book, tea/coffee flask, mini finger football game and, wait for it...my megaphone! Trololololol! I have never laughed so hard, I don't know what possessed my house mate to buy me a megaphone or why he thought I needed to turn up the volume on my pretty voluminous voice anyway, but it certainly put a smile on mine and everyone else's faces to say the least, so thank you very much James! 

We then enjoyed an incredibly delicious Christmas roast dinner prepared mainly by food and ego lover alike, Mr. Gareth Shute complete with Christmas crackers, paper hats and your typical bad jokes. We rounded off the celebrations with a glass of bucks fizz (classy, I know), and a hot headed game of Articulate. Fabulous.

After worrying throughout my year abroad about what my house mates would be like in my final year I could not have asked for a better bunch of lovely people. Last night's fun has just made me all the more excited to get my final two exams out of the way tomorrow and prepare to go home for even more festive fun! 

Sunday #2

1. So, as promised I shall shamefully share some snaps (how about that for some alliteration!) from Friday night  where my house mates and I aged about 50 years or so. As you can see from the top photo, one birthday boy took the theme a tad too far and broke his collar bone a couple of days before the big event! Injuries aside, it was an incredibly fun night and everyone's costumes looked fabulous! The boys took to their dresses and skirts like ducks to water, happily swishing and swaying at any given opportunity. After a hilarious game of articulate and a few beverages we headed up to to the club and most certainly painted the town red. For some of us, the excitement was all too much and sadly the night called for an early end. I for one, may or may not have fallen asleep in a cosy corner of the club... (Apologies for the spotty top photo, dirty camera lens tut tut). 

2. It is officially 2 weeks today until Christmas and I have done zero Christmas shopping, uh oh. We are having a house Christmas dinner on Tuesday and exchanging our Secret Santa gifts so that is top of my list of things to do tomorrow, post exam of course (wish me luck). I pretty much know what I want to get people I just haven't had the time spare to look for them so it's not worrying me too much. People seem to gasp in horror when I tell them I haven't yet started, but 2 weeks is plenty of time people! I always manage it and my gifts are always fabulous, OTT is my middle name. 

3. Speaking of exams, there are just 3 of them plus an extra seminar that stand between me and the Christmas holidays and I canny bloomin' wait! I will be over the moon to be able to go home and see some familiar faces and spend more than just a snatched afternoon with some pretty amazing folks. 

VIP OAPS

Just a brief post today. It's been hectic. The day started with my amazing house mates, including one with a broken collar bone, helping me to bump start my car. It died on me a few days ago but with a great heave ho we managed to get it up and running again, so thank you very, very much to them. Have a drink on me boys! Once up and running I ventured to town to try and find my Secret Santa a present, semi-successfully. I was inspired by quite a few things but need to look over the weekend to make sure it's within budget! The most exciting part of the day is still to come though! The other part of my trip involved a lot of charity shops in order to find the perfect Grandpa outfit for tonight's OAP themed birthday bash. It has been far too long since I have had a night out and there's nothing like a good ol' fancy dress theme to add a touch of class. We seem to have done a gender reversal though with the guys going as grannies and the girls going as gramps. Might do a photo post on tonight just for the lols. 

In other news, I am one more deadline down, three to go! I have started sending applications off for journalism courses once I graduate and have an interview early next year already in the pipeline! Everything crossed. I also received an email informing me that the interview I did with Motel Rocks for being October's Ambassador of the month is now up on line, so if you want to have a read you my do so here! And, if you haven't read enough of my waffle, you can read the latest article I wrote for my uni paper here. Any thoughts? 

Right, better go get my grandpa glad rags on. Pass the talc...

I Covet Thee, Christmas

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It feels like an absolute age since I did an I Covet Thee post. I haven't really had the time or been overly inspired to create one recently, but with Christmas approaching it is time to start thinking of answers for that oh-so-awkward question, 'What do you want?' After losing the bottom of one of my boots last week and having to resort to limping on several pins sticking out of the heel for the rest of the day, a new pair is definitely top of my list! I've had my eye on these tan ankle boots for months now (I'm surprised they're still in stock). I usually get a few pieces of clothing and anything knitted/sheer/pleated is fine with me à la Topshop cardigan and Yayer dress above! Other little bits I'd like are socks (I love novelty socks, I canny get enough of them), Liz Earle samples (I've heard very good things and really need to improve my skincare) and some second hand books. I like books that have been worn in a bit and I'm one of those anti-kindle people! I like browsing book stores and charity shops for new reads and that would most likely come to an end with a kindle. The ol' fashioned page turners are how novels should be read! 

My news feeds at the moment seem to be inundated with a mixture of people who have started, nearly finished or already finished their Christmas shopping. I, for one, have only just begun to think about what to buy people. I have the odd idea floating around but need to get proactive! Secret Santa exchanges are happening in my house next Tuesday so I really need to get a move on!

On another note, Amalea from Luscious asked me to do a short survey for her this week for her blog. There are some other bloggers featured too so head on over and have a read and a follow! 

Sunday #1

1. I am finding it increasingly difficult to find the time to keep this blog running, so I am taking inspiration from some other blogs that I read and starting a new Sunday feature to sum up my week. That way I can edit and add to it as I go and if nothing else should get blogged, at least Sunday will! 

2. The turning from November to December means that even for the most Scrooge like among us there is no reason to not get excited about Christmas. This amazing advent calendar (pictured above) arrived in the post a few days before December. My mum never fails to get us an advent calendar and for the past few years she has got us personalised ones! (Probably to stop the bickering between us siblings, Annalisa, I'm looking at you). Not the best photo above, but the only one I have I'm afraid. The coca-cola advert is once again up and running and everywhere I look lights and tinsel are in full swing! My uni house is no exception, our 3ft synthetic tree, complete with lights, baubles, tinsel and a star, is something to envy. As are our copious amounts of paper chains! More tackiness please and thank you. 

3. It was also my house mate Matt's birthday this week, which I got just a little excited about. I'm a sucker for birthdays! To celebrate we went for our first outing as a whole house (only took 10 weeks!) Then after some amazing food and a glass of wine at the Brewery Tavern in Canterbury, we headed home where birthday celebrations turned into Christmas cheer and Elf was watched with caterpillar cake dessert. 

4. To end the week I went home to visit Rob and my family for the first time in what felt like an absolute age. I spent Friday and Saturday at Rob's then today we went to see my family and had the most amazing roast; my mum is THE best cook in the world, incredible woman. Topped off with not just any melt in the middle chocolate cake pudding and ice cream, but M&S melt in the middle chocolate cake pudding and ice cream. All too soon though I had to leave to catch my train back to Canterbury and sadly missed out on helping put up the Christmas decorations, so I am all the more excited to go home in two weeks and join in the family festivities! 

5. I am however looking forward to another house birthday this week and their joint OAP themed birthday shindig on Friday night! So prepare yourselves for some (if not too embarrassing) granny photos this time next week!

6. And last but by no means least I owe a huge thank you to the lovely Lauryn from Bracelets and Bangles who awarded me the Versatile Blogger award! She has a lovely blog and is currently doing the 100 day challenge which consists of her taking a photo of her outfits for 100 days! It's quite the challenge and she has posted some lovely photos so be sure to pay her a visit!